Vang Pao, a revered leader of the Hmong-American community and a former general in the Royal Army of Laos, is among 10 men charged with plotting to overthrow the Laotian regime. An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,… Read moreHmong leader Vang Pao charged in Laotian plot
The EU’s carbon trading scheme has increased electricity bills, given a windfall to power companies and failed to cut greenhouse gases, according to an investigation by BBC Radio 4’s “File on 4” program. According to the consumer watchdog Energywatch, after… Read moreBBC: carbon trading a scam
Ecuador has offered to drop plans to develop the country’s biggest oilfield at Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) in the Amazon basin if developed nations pay it to protect the land. President Rafael Correa hopes wealthy governments and environmental groups will pay $350… Read moreEcuador to enviros: pay us to keep oil in the ground
Palestinians and Israelis gathered in Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah on the West Bank June 5 to mark the anniversary of the start of the 1967 Six-Day War, and to demand an immediate end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. In… Read morePalestine recalls 1967 naksa —as violence continues
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor refused to attend the opening of his trial at The Hague for war crimes both in his own country and Sierra Leone, where he is accused of supporting a brutal guerilla movement. In a letter,… Read moreCharles Taylor defies war crimes trial
A militant Islamist group, the Mujahedeen Youth Movement, has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack against the home of Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi at the weekend, which killed five soldiers and two civilians. Several hours after the announcement,… Read moreSomalia: Mujahedeen Youth Movement continues resistance
From the American Civil Liberties Union, June 4: GUANTÁNAMO BAY, CUBA – A United States military judge today dismissed charges in the case of Omar Khadr, a Canadian who was 15 years old when he was arrested by U.S. forces… Read moreCharges dropped in Gitmo tribunal case
Police stormed impoversihed Nairobi neighborhoods June 4 in search of Mungiki militants accused in a string of beheadings—killing 22 suspects and arresting 100 in overnight gun-battles. The raids came after two police officers were shot dead in the Kenyan capital’s… Read moreKenya: deadly police raids on Mungiki cult
From the New York City environmental group Time’s Up, June 4: NYPD Cuts Locks, Confiscates Bicycles and Arrests Bystanders in Bike Raid on East 6th Street NEW YORK — On Thursday night, May 31st, the NYPD seized approximately 15 bikes… Read moreNYPD escalates bicycle crackdown
New York City Council member Charles Barron is demanding an investigation following death threats made against him on a website frequented by police officers. The site contains a message board called “NYPD Rant” in which two posts called for Barron… Read moreDeath threats in NYC City Council
Tens of thousands of Colombian teachers and students and their supporters held marches on May 30 to protest a proposed Law of Transferences and a National Development Project (PND) that they say will cut funding for education and teachers’ pensions…. Read moreColombia: teachers and students in national mobilization
On May 31 Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba told reporters that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s largest leftist guerrilla organization, was close to freeing Ingrid Betancourt, the 2002 presidential candidate of the Oxygen Green Party, and her… Read moreColombia: FARC to free hostages?
